The Silent Treatment
Questions need to be asked... and answered directly
Making good choices is necessary for a good life, but it’s not always easy. For example, sometimes we’re caught between a “rock and hard place,” or we’re left to choose between “the devil and the deep blue sea.” But whatever your expression, sometimes it’s a situation with very few choices, if any at all, and with none of them seeming particularly good, either.
This may very well describe the situation for nearly 75 percent of voters in Shreveport who didn’t vote for either Adrian Perkins or Mayor Ollie Tyler in the first place. Choosing one of them in the run-off election on Dec. 8 may present a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation. Is your vote for Mayor Tyler a tacit “endorsement” of the direction our city is heading, or a merely a vote of “expectation” that she will build upon her experience in office and learn from her mistakes?
Is your vote for Adrian Perkins to give Shreveport an experimental “shot in the arm” for new leadership, or is it a “Hail Mary” vote of desperation to elect anyone else but the incumbent?
These are the questions that have been debated greatly around dinner tables in Shreveport and on social media for months.
Of course, the candidates haven’t always made answering these questions easy for us as voters. Both Mayor Tyler and Adrian Perkins have dodged questions, remained silent on others, and skipped debate forums throughout the campaign, including a mayoral forum on race relations in our city. But you see, this lack of transparency undermines our ability, as voters, to properly evaluate their candidacy – but maybe, in some instances, that’s the idea.
For example, Adrian Perkins says he “believe(s) in Shreveport,” and his intentions “have always been to return to Shreveport,” yet he purchased a home in Georgia, and his vehicle is registered in Tennessee. He lists on his resume as having worked, in some capacity, for the state of Louisiana and the city of Shreveport, and yet both have no record of him working in any capacity. He admits he does not have a job but says he won’t answer questions about his income, or how he supports himself, otherwise. He has never voted in an election (other than most recently for himself), and even missed the April 28 vote this year (held two days after he announced he was running for mayor), and yet remains silent on the reason(s) why.
The fact these questions exist is not the issue – the fact they have not been adequately addressed by the candidate is the trouble. Of course, some may say these questions are unimportant or petty. They say we’re missing the forest for the trees, so to speak, by bringing them up at all. Maybe they’re right.
But the notion of a representative democracy derives its authority from the consent of the governed, and when political candidates won’t fully present themselves for substantive (and transparent) consideration, or otherwise aren’t forthright, our elections become more about protecting the personal interests of a few than the best interests of the many.
And since when did asking questions of political candidates become so disparaged and unthinkable? Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter.” Well, elections matter – a lot – so why should anyone remain silent? If voters are bullied enough to stop asking questions of candidates and elected officials, then won’t political double-talk in well-scripted press releases simply rule the day?
Life is not a polished press release or staged photo opportunity – and neither is running a major city like Shreveport. Experience is important. There are questions that aren’t scripted, budgets to be balanced, and problems that won’t be solved with slogans. Just watch the most recent mayoral forum that was televised on KTAL (on Nov. 29*) to see what I mean. You’ll see the candidates without the benefit of their prepared statements, and you’ll get a better glimpse of the real person who is asking for your vote and what they know about running anything at all.
Like many of you, I feel caught between a “rock and hard place” this mayoral election, but the last thing we should do is stop asking the questions that matter, or vote for a candidate who isn’t willing to answer them.
Louis R. Avallone is a Shreveport businessman, attorney and author of “Bright Spots, Big Country, What Makes America Great.” He is also a former aide to U.S. Representative Jim McCrery and editor of The Caddo Republican. His columns have appeared regularly in The Forum since 2007. Follow him on Facebook, on Twitter @louisravallone or by e-mail at [email protected], and on American Ground Radio at 101.7FM and 710 AM, weeknights from 6 - 7 p.m., and streaming live on keelnews.com.
